The all weather lifeboat was launched in severe weather conditions yesterday 17th April. A local fishing vessel was dragging her mooring towards a rocky shore while a visiting yacht struggled to find shelter or holding ground within the harbour. The lifeboat Alan Massey transferred two crew onto the fishing vessel [...]

At 1:15 this morning 6 March 2013, assistance was requested in a search for a man missing with a young child. Both the all weather lifeboat and inshore lifeboat were launched and proceeded to Audley Cove, where assistance was given in the recovery of the body of the adult male. [...]

Baltimore RNLI Lifeboat launched at 05:20 this morning 12 Feb 2013 to participate in a search for a missing Spanish fisherman. The Alan Massey, proceeded to an area 20 miles SW of Mizen Head in West Cork. Alongside the Castletownbere RNLI lifeboat, 2 Irish Naval vessels, Coastguard helicopters, an Irish [...]

The all-weather lifeboat launched this evening at 19:50 in severe weather conditions. A lone yachtsman had been reported missing at Rineen as he tried to secure his boat. Coxswain Kieran Cotter and crew Aidan Bushe, Brendan Cottrell, Jerry Smith, John O’Flynn and Brian McSweeney launched immediately. On arrival they ascertained [...]

Concerns were raised when a single handed yachtsman lost radio contact with Valentia Coastguard this morning 27/10/2012. The alarm was raised shortly before 8am and soon after the Tamar class all weather lifeboat was making its way toward the last position given by the yachstman 25 miles offshore. The coastguard [...]

A new Tamar class RNLI lifeboat recently put on service at Baltimore in West Cork, was this weekend (Saturday 22 September 2012) officially named Alan Massey during a special ceremony. The lifeboat was substantially funded by a legacy from Ms Dorothy May Massey in honour of her late brother Alan. It was named by Mrs Sue Windsor, a close family friend of Ms Massey, before being handed over to Baltimore RNLI.

Mr. Declan Tiernan, Chairperson of the Baltimore Lifeboat Station stated that the lifeboat has already proved its worth. He told the crowd about a recent callout which involved the new lifeboat and its Y boat (an inflatable boat carried on the deck of the lifeboat). Last month two teenagers were trapped in a cave and conditions were making it impossible for rescuers to get close, the lifeboat crew deployed the small Y boat from the lifeboat to bring the lifeboat volunteers as far into the narrow cave as they could safely go before a crewmember then swam the rest of the way and brought them to safety.

RNLI Operations Director Michael Vlasto OBE, who travelled to Baltimore to accept the lifeboat into the care of the Institution commented, “ Baltimore’s lifeboats have a proud history of lifesaving dating back to 1919 and since then have launched 718 times and in so doing have rescued 661 people. Ten medals have been awarded, the last being voted in 1992 to the current Coxswain Kieran Cotter.

In the RNLI, the safety of our volunteer crew is paramount. We strive to ensure they have the best lifeboats, excellent training and first class equipment to carry out their often difficult tasks. This Tamar lifeboat is state of the art and has proven to be a thoroughly reliable and capable lifesaving craft since its arrival here at Baltimore.”

Tom Bushe, Baltimore RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager accepted the lifeboat into the care of the Baltimore Lifeboat station. The new lifeboat has already launched 14 times and rescued 17 people since its arrival in February. Tom added, “ We are very proud to be the custodians of this lifeboat. The crew in Baltimore provide an exceptional service to their community. These are ordinary people who are ready to risk their own lives in the service of others.

The lifeboat was officially named in the traditional way of breaking a bottle of champagne over the bow. Mrs Sue Windsor then named the lifeboat Alan Massey.

Ms Dorothy May Massey was born in 1906 and lived in Watford. She was the youngest of three children. It was her wish to fund a lifeboat and she passed away in 2003 aged 97. The Baltimore Tamar lifeboat has been substantially funded by her legacy together with the generous bequests of Henry and Joan Jermyn, John Noel Harvey Ward and John Heath.

The new Tamar class lifeboat is 16.3 metres in length with a maximum speed of 25 knots compared to the 14.3 metres of Baltimore RNLI’s former Tyne class lifeboat, which had a maximum speed of 18 knots. The lifeboat is self-righting and is fitted with an integrated electronics systems and information management system, which allows the lifeboat crew to monitor, operate and control many of the boats systems from shock mitigating seats. It has room for 44 survivors.

The event included local school children from Rath National School who sang the lifeboat anthem Home from the Sea and groups and musicians including the Rathmore Church Choir, The Baltimore Singers and HX Brass.

04/09/2012
The RNLI all weather lifeboat Alan Massey was launched this morning at 07:00 to assist in the continuing search for the diver reported missing yesterday. Weather conditions are favourable but as the incident happened at a wreck site 12 miles offshore the search area is large.

Both the inshore lifeboat and all weather lifeboat were launched this evening in response to a request from the coastguard to assist in locating a diver reported missing earlier this afternoon. The diver had been one of a party of three diving at a wreck site 12 miles south of Baltimore Harbour in West Cork. The divers are thought to be of German origin and the dive site, the wreck of the Minnehaha. Weather conditions were excellent with a 1.5 metre swell and force 3-4 winds. The Navy vessel LE Ciara, Coastguard Helicopter 115 and the Holly Joe were all involved in the search. As darkness approached the inshore lifeboat (ILB) was stood down and returned to Baltimore at 21.10 approx. Onboard the B-class ILB Bessie, were Helm Youen Jacob, Shane MacSweeney and Ger O’Brien. On board the Tamar class ALB Alan Massey, were Coxswain Kieran Cotter, Cathal Cottrell (mechanic), John Rochford, Brian MacSweeney, Jerry Smith and Aidan Bushe. The lifeboat will resume searching at 7am tomorrow morning.

While on a joint lifeboat exercise this evening, the Coastguard tasked Baltimore Lifeboat to carry out a medical evacuation of an elderly male from Cape Clear Island. On arrival in Cape Clear the all weather lifeboat crew assisted with the air lifting of the casualty from Cape Clear emergency helicopter landing pad. Meanwhile the ILB brought Lifeboat Medical Advisor, Dr Don Creagh, to the slip near the helipad to further assess the casualty’s condition.

Further details have emerged on the dramatic events of last night (Saturday 4 August 2012) and early this morning which saw two young kayakers rescued after they became trapped in Mill Cave, West Cork. The rescue involved a Baltimore RNLI crewmember swimming into a narrow cave in challenging sea conditions and bringing the two young kayakers to safety.

The two teenagers, a boy and a girl, had been reported missing from Rosscarbery on Saturday evening after they had not returned home at their expected time. A huge search was mounted involving Balimore RNLI and Irish Coast Guard Units.

At 23:00, while the search was ongoing, Baltimore RNLI lifeboat Helm John Kearney heard what he thought was a faint whistle coming from Pouldav cave, known locally for its blow hole. The lifeboat crew were aboard the RNLI Atlantic 75 inshore lifeboat Bessie but could not enter the cave due to the dangerous surf conditions. The lifeboat crew then launched a small boarding boat from their all weather lifeboat Alan Massey with volunteer crewmembers Ger Sheehy and Sean McCarthy. This smaller boat could only advance within 50 metres of the cave summit due to the area being awash with surf and again too dangerous. RNLI crewmember John Kearney, an experienced sea swimmer, went into the water and swam the last 50 metres to reach the two kayakers. The boy and girl were clinging to a rock surface while waves broke around them.

Both the young people were cold and tired. John carried each of them in turn over his shoulder in chest high water to the boarding boat. Considerable skill was required of Ger Sheehy to keep the small boat steady so that they could be retrieved with the assistance of Sean McCarthy. The girl and boy were then taken to the inshore lifeboat, where they were given a medical assessment and deemed to be fit to return to shore. The inshore lifeboat brought them directly to their families at Mill Cove slip, where they were assessed by a Doctor. The entire incident took place in the hours of darkness

Commenting on the rescue Baltimore RNLI Helm John Kearney said, “the water in the cave was churning like a washing machine. However I was convinced that I had heard a sound and was concerned for the safety of the kayakers. I will never forget the relief I felt when I saw the two young people alive and safe inside the cave. They were very brave and did exactly what they needed to do to get to safety. We are very lucky to have two lifeboats in Baltimore, and by using all of our available resources and training we were able to bring these young people to safety.”

Charity’s role in maritime life-saving work recognised RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew from across Ireland took part in today’s (Sunday 27 March 2016) Easter 1916 centenary commemoration which saw over seven hundred members of the Irish emergency services taking part in the biggest parade in the history of the state. The [...]

Baltimore all-weather lifeboat Alan Massey launch at 1955 hrs last night, to transfer an ill man from Sherkin Island to Baltimore. An ambulance met the lifeboat upon its return to the station in Baltimore and the patient was transferred to the care of the ambulance paramedics and the boat made [...]

Recently released RNLI stats for 2015 show just how busy Baltimore volunteer crew have been over the past year. The all weather lifeboat Alan Massey was launched 25 times and inshore lifeboat Alice and Charles launched 14 times rescuing a total of 46 people in 2015. In total RNLI volunteer [...]

Baltimore RNLI were recently presented with a cheque for over €12,000 fundraised by the family of Niamh O’Connor. http://www.southernstar.ie/news/roundup/articles/2015/12/24/4111481-oconnor-family-raises-12k-for-rnli/

Baltimore RNLI received an an alert from Valentia Coastguard at 09:29 this morning when a young boy in urgent need of medical attention required immediate evacuation from Cape Clear Island. Coxswain Aidan Bushe along with 5 volunteer crewmen were launched within minutes of the alert in the all-weather Tamar class [...]

Baltimore RNLI Tamar class Lifeboat Alan Massey launched tonight to go to the assistance of a fishing vessel which ran aground in Glandore Harbour. The Lifeboat was tasked at 2125 and arrived in Glandore Harbour where the Union Hall Inshore Lifeboat was evacuating the crew from the stricken vessel. The [...]

Sisters Yvonne O’Keeffe & Gillian O’Sullivan are running in the Dublin Marathon on 26th October and have set up a charity page to hopefully make a few bob for the RNLI Baltimore Lifeboat Station – a cause very close to their hearts. Any donations small or large would be greatly [...]

A rescue operation took place in what must have been record time this evening 19 August. Bleepers went off at 18:19 after a 7 metre motor Boat with 2 adults on board went aground on rocks opposite the station house. The boat had suffered engine failure and had drifted onto [...]